A couple of weeks ago I posted a recipe I tried out from Skinnytaste.com – the Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, which was amazing!  She actually adapted that recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen.  Well…I’ve got to say I subscribed immediately to her blog.  The recipes are mouthwatering!  Best of all they’re low-glycemic, which is ideal for a “pre-diabetic” mama like myself – not to mention having a type 1 diabetic Husband! 

Well, when this beauty came across my e-mail I knew it was a MUST MAKE recipe.  I pretty much followed her recipe, but used what I had on hand, so I noted the changes below in red.

The result…  Oh My Lord…  This is a perfect version of my kick butt Lasagna made lighter.  I’m so excited to play around with it more on my next take.  Natie loves it & has actually been enjoying the leftovers with Mommy & Daddy!  That means it’s toddler approved & he’s getting in veggies – KALE!!!

Kale & Sausage Casserole

adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen – Sausage & Kale Mock Lasagna Casserole

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized bunches of kale
1 tsp. salt (for water to cook kale)
2 tsp. olive oil – I omitted since I had pork sausage, which tends to be a fatter meat – aka no need for added oil
1 pkg (19.5 oz) hot turkey Italian Sausage – I couldn’t find any hot turkey or chicken sausage at the store I was at, so I grabbed hot pork sausage
3 cups low-sugar pasta sauce – as luck would have it, I had leftover sauce from the night before with Gamma & Papa’s visit!
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. ground fennel – I keep fennel seeds on hand for my lasagna, so it worked out perfectly for this.
2 T + 2 T finely grated Parmesan cheese – I always have plenty of Pecorino Romano Cheese on hand so I used that.
1 C + 1 C grated reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large glass casserole dish with non-stick spray.

Add the salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Trim stems from the kale, then into ribbons about 1/2 inch wide. Add the kale to the boiling water & cook 5-6 minutes.

Drain kale into a colander in the sink and let it continue to drain while you brown the sausage.  Kalyn used a salad spinner to really get all the water out – if you have one – I recommend using it.

Spray your frying pan with a non-stick cooking spray.  Squeeze the sausage out of the casings.  Sauté until the sausage is cooked through and nicely browned, be sure to break it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

When the sausage is done, add the pasta sauce, dried basil and fennel. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer 20-25 minutes, or until it’s thickened and the liquid is reduced.

In the casserole dish, layer 1/2 the drained kale, sprinkle 2 T Parmesan, 1/2 the sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of kale, Parmesan, sauce, and mozzarella.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake another 15-20 minutes or until the casserole is bubbling and cheese is starting to brown.

Let the Kale & Sausage Casserole sit for about 5 minutes before you dig in!

Serves 8. Based on the nutritional information on the ingredients I used this recipe came out to 7 pointsplus per serving.